Smilax china L.: A review of its botany, ethnopharmacology, phytochemistry, pharmacological activities, actual and potential applications

Ethnopharmacological relevance: Smilax china L., an extensively used traditional Chinese medicine, is known as Baqia in China. It has been used to treat various inflammatory disorders, particularly pelvic inflammation. Aim of the review: The present paper aims to provide an up-to-date review at the advancements of the investigations on the ethnopharmacology, phytochemistry, pharmacological effect and actual and potential applications of S. china. Besides, the possible tendency and perspective for future research of this plant are discussed, as well. Materials and methods: This article uses "Smilax china L." "S. china" as the keyword and collects relevant information on Smilax china L. plants through electronic searches (Elsevier, PubMed, ACS, CNKI, Google Scholar, Baidu Scholar, Web of Science), relevant books, and classic literature about Chinese herb. Results: 134 chemical constituents, among which steroid saponins and flavonoids are the predominant groups, have been isolated and identified from S. china. S. china with its active compounds is possessed of wide-reaching biological activities, including anti-inflammatory, anti-cancer, anti-oxidant, detoxify nicotine, anti-diabetes, antiobesity, anti-hyperuricaemia, anti-hypertension, promoting skin wound and barrier repair and anti-bacterial activity. Besides, S. china is also applied to other fields, such as food industry and detection technology. Conclusions: Based on the review of the existing phytochemical studies on Smilax china L., the structural characterization of Smilax china L. extract can continue to be the focus of future research. Pharmacological studies in vitro and in vivo have demonstrated some of the traditional uses of Smilax china L. extract, while other traditional uses still need to be confirmed by research.